Weather Flash: Where is the dirty side of a hurricane?

WASHINGTON ( DC News Now ) — Often during the hurricane season, you hear meteorologists talk about the dirty side of a hurricane.

But what does that term mean? A hurricane is broken up into four different quadrants.

The left front quadrant, the left rear quadrant, the right front quadrant and the right rear quadrant.

Let’s start with the left front quadrant. This side of the storm has a slight chance of seeing a tornado, strong winds will be possible and we will see the smallest storm surge.

Up next is the left rear quadrant which tends to be the weakest part of the storm. A flooding threat is still possible.

Then we head to the right rear quadrant of the storm. In this section of the storm, we have a slight chance of seeing tornadoes. Strong winds and flooding threats will also be on the table.

And then finally, the right front quadrant of the storm is considered the “dirty side” of a hurricane.

This storm area is the strongest part of a hurricane because of the combination of the hurricane’s wind speed and forward motion.

This part of the storm also sees the highest storm surge as the storm is pushing more water onto the land.

The tornado threat is greatest in this quadrant because of the warm ocean waters, and the most air can trigger tornado development.

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